WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) called on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to immediately revise a recent directive that will prevent veterans with PTSD and other mental and emotional disorders from receiving VA benefits for service dogs. According to federal law, the VA can reimburse veterans with both physical and mental disabilities for the costs of owning a service dog, if a medical professional deems such a dog to be beneficial.  However, according to a new VA directive that will go into effect on October 5th, only veterans with physical disabilities will have this option, until a VA study on the matter is completed in 2014.  This is despite evidence that service dogs have the capability to assist those with mental disabilities. In the New York metro area, there are approximately 6,614 veterans who suffer from PTSD and are being treated at VA medical facilities or Readjustment Counseling Centers and 182,147 around the country.

Schumer was joined by Barbara Jenkel of Educated Canines Assisting With Disabilities (ECAD), and her dog Blip; Iraq veteran Charles Hernandez and his dog Valor; and Afghanistan veteran Leslie Wohlfeld and her dog Lizzy. 

“Our veterans fought bravely on the field of battle, but unfortunately, for some veterans, the battle does not end once they return home,” said Schumer. “Sadly, the horrors of war mean that many veterans come home with PTSD and other mental and emotional ailments. That’s why we owe it to these vets to provide them with every recovery option possible, including service dogs, prescribed by a doctor, to help them heal.  Man’s best friend can be a vet’s best friend, and that’s why, as the wars are winding down and with the ranks of those suffering mental and emotional trauma remaining sky-high, the VA should not deny benefits to veterans that will help them to access service dogs.”

The VA’s new directive eliminates service dogs as an option to treat mental ailments until an internal study is completed in 2014.  The VA claims that they will not provide benefits for mental health service dogs to veterans with PTSD and TBI because there is not enough clinical evidence to support their effectiveness; however, there is overwhelming anecdotal evidence to support the effectiveness as well as a long history of providing service dogs to people with mental disabilities. An essay printed in the U.S. Army’s United States Army Medical Department Journal from April-June 2012, for example, explains the biology underlying the observed benefits of mental health service dogs for veterans suffering from PTSD. The article points to extensive anecdotal evidence of firsthand reports by veterans.